In modern commercial and residential construction interior wall surfaces are typically formed from flat modular units affixed to wood or metal studs. These units, know as sheet rock, gypsum board, plasterboard or generically herein as wallboard, come in standard dimensions which are abutted to form a continuous surface. In order to present a surface which is unmarked by seams, it is necessary to position bridging tape which overlaps the seam and which supports a coating of a wet plaster-like compound known as mud. The mud is applied to obscure any variations in the wall profile, and to form the wall surface into an uninterrupted expanse.
Conventional drywall tape is typically a simple kraft paper strip which is adhered to the drywall surfaces by a coating of mud. Because the mud must be applied as the tape is positioned, operators must take care not to discharge the mud onto non-work surfaces. In addition, once the drywall tape has been applied an installer must wait as much as a day for the mud to dry before a final surface coat of mud can be applied.
Self-adhesive drywall tapes eliminate the clean-up and drying time delays associated with other paper tapes. The tapes are adhered to the wall board with light pressure, and are then rubbed down or burnished with a knife and may be immediately coated with mud. These tapes, such as the type manufactured by E-Z Taping System, Inc., of Green Bay, Wis., and disclosed in pending U.S. application No. Ser. 08/677,382, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,129, offer rapid and neat application, and can cut many hours in the taping of a building project. Nonetheless, pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes have manifested a tendency to "raise up" or protrude after the initial coating of mud. The raised areas are readily eliminated by waiting for the joint compound or mud to dry and then applying hand pressure to the raised area, or lightly sanding or scraping the raised area. Alternatively, raised up sections may be treated while the mud is still wet by applying pressure to the raised portions. Although the unevenness is completely addressed by these steps, this obstinate phenomenon has been an obstacle to full realization of the time and labor saving benefits of pressure-sensitive tapes for bridging wall board joints.
What is needed is a method for apply pressure-sensitive adhesive backed paper tape to wall board joints which is convenient, consistent, and which does not require waiting for mud to dry.